Born With Curiosity
by WinterSky101
Summary: Breha and Winter pay a visit to Corscuant. Ninth in "Reinvent Love."


**Title is from "The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know" by Panic! at the Disco.**

* * *

"Mamá?" Winter asks, tugging at the hem of Breha's dress. "Are we almost there?"

"We are, little one," Breha agrees, bending down to pick Winter up and settle her on her hip. "We're going to land in a few minutes. Papá should be there to meet us."

"Will we see Obi-Wan?" Winter asks eagerly. She grew very fond of Obi-Wan on his last visit to Alderaan. "And meet his children?"

"I'm sure we'll see Obi-Wan very soon. He and your father spend a lot of time together," Breha replies. "And I'm certain you'll have a chance to meet Luke and Leia. Papá's apartment is only a few minutes away from theirs."

Breha can't help but wonder if Luke and Leia are as precocious as Winter is, given their connection to the Force. Bail says they're talkative, just like Winter, and that there's a certain solemnity to them sometimes that you'd never expect from three year olds. Breha hopes the children will all get along. Winter could use more friends. It's difficult for her sometimes on Alderaan; she's more mature than most children her age, but so much smaller than the ones who are closer to her level intellectually. Add in the complexity inherent in Winter's title, and it becomes very difficult for Winter to interact with other children. Hopefully, it'll be easier with Luke and Leia.

Winter is quiet, apparently thinking, as the ship lands, but the second it settles down, she squirms her way out of Breha's grip and runs to the door. Breha laughs as she follows her. Sometimes, Winter is so composed she almost seems like a little adult, and then sometimes, she's so bright and energetic that you can't possibly forget she's only a child. Breha can't blame her for being excited now, though; it's been months since she's seen her father. It's difficult for her, Breha knows. Between Bail's work as a senator on Coruscant and Breha's work as Queen on Alderaan, the two of them rarely have time to visit each other. They made do when they were childless, but now that they have Winter and she's growing older, Breha thinks they might need to come up with a new solution. Winter deserves to be able to see both her parents.

Bail is waiting outside, standing on the landing pad. Winter barrels into her father's legs, hugging them tightly, and Bail laughs and picks her up. "Hello, little one," he says, giving Winter a kiss. "How was your trip?"

"Long," Winter says, a bit petulantly. "I wanted the ship to go faster."

Bail laughs again, looking up at Breha as she approaches. "And what did you think, love? Was the trip too long?"

"Always," Breha says, going up on tiptoe to give Bail a kiss. "But, as always, it was worth it in the end."

"And how is Alderaan?" Bail asks. "The same as it ever was?"

"Mostly," Breha agrees. "Not much has changed since you were last there. How is Coruscant?"

"Padmé and I have managed to pass some laws that should make some headway into reinstating the Senate as the preeminent government branch," Bail replies. "But outside of politics, everything is much as it always was."

"And how is everyone?" Breha asks, starting towards their waiting speeder. Bail falls in step next to her. "Padmé and her boys, I mean. And the children, of course."

"They're all well," Bail replies. "In fact, they've actually asked us to come to dinner tonight. Only if you feel up to it, of course. If you'd rather have a quiet meal tonight, we can meet with them another time."

"That's sweet of you to consider, but a dinner together sounds lovely," Breha replies. "And Winter will be excited. She's very eager to see Obi-Wan again, and she wants to meet the twins."

Winter, who's been dozing in her father's arms, lifts her head. "Are we going to see Obi-Wan?"

"Tonight, darling," Breha tells her, kissing the top of her head. "We're going to have dinner with Obi-Wan and his parters and their children. You'll get to meet Luke and Leia, won't that be nice?"

"Both of them are very excited to meet you," Bail adds. "I've told them all about you. Leia especially hopes you can be friends."

Winter hums vaguely in agreement and lowers her head back down onto Bail's shoulder. Breha smiles. "She's exhausted," she tells Bail quietly. "She should have slept through the latter part of the trip, but she was too excited to see you. I imagine it'll take her a few days to get used to the time difference."

"She'll probably wake up in the afternoon and stay awake all night," Bail says with amusement. "But at least she'll be up for dinner."

"We shouldn't let her sleep too late," Breha says, "but until it's time to wake her, perhaps you and I could spend some more… adult time together."

Bail grins and holds out a hand to help Breha into the speeder. "I think we can arrange that."

* * *

"Now," Breha tells Winter as they head to Padmé's apartment, "you're going to be on your best behavior, correct? And you'll be nice to Luke and Leia?"

"I will," Winter promises dutifully.

"Don't worry so much," Bail tells Breha in a gentle undertone. "This isn't a formal meal, it's just dinner between friends. And trust me, if Winter causes a bit of chaos, she won't be the only one. Luke and Leia are sweet children, but they can be rather wild."

"Still, I'd like Winter to behave," Breha replies quietly. "And you'll be good, won't you, darling?" she asks Winter in a slightly louder voice.

Winter nods. "I'll be good."

Bail winks down at her as he knocks on Padmé's door. Obi-Wan opens it, a smile on his face.

"Breha! Winter! How good to see you. It's been far too long."

"I don't merit a greeting?" Bail asks playfully.

Obi-Wan rolls his eyes. "I saw you yesterday. It's been nigh on a year since I've seen Breha and Winter." He kneels down in front of Winter. "I think I should visit Alderaan more often. What do you think?"

Winter nods, then she steps forward and gives Obi-Wan a hug. For an instant, Obi-Wan looks startled, then his expression softens and he hugs Winter back. "If I get hugs like this every time I see you, I'll need to see you more often," he jokes. "Now, Winter, would you like to meet Luke and Leia? And Anakin and Padmé, of course, but they're adults and not nearly as much fun as Luke and Leia are."

"I wanna meet Luke and Leia," Winter says, her voice a little quieter than usual. Breha wonders if she's feeling shy or if she thinks speaking loudly counts as the sort of bad behavior she promised she wouldn't do.

"Then meet them you shall," Obi-Wan says, standing and taking Winter's hand. "Come on in, you three. Everyone's excited to see you."

Winter walks in with Obi-Wan, and Bail and Breha follow behind. Padmé beams at them from the sofa, and Anakin looks up from where he's sitting on the floor with Luke and Leia. The twins look up at Winter with interest, and Breha sees Winter eye them with interest of her own.

"Breha!" Padmé says, standing and crossing to embrace Breha. "It's lovely to see you again. And this must be Winter!" Padmé smiles down at Winter and waves. "Hello, darling. Your father has told me all about you."

"I expect he has," Breha says quietly, fully aware that Bail is physically incapable of not talking about Winter for more than an hour at a time. Anakin must catch the remark, because he lets out a little snort.

"Hello," Winter says in a small voice. She's definitely feeling shy, then. Breha almost steps forward to take her hand from Obi-Wan's, but apparently Obi-Wan knows how to handle a shy child better than Breha thought, because he smiles down at Winter and squeezes her hand lightly.

"This is Padmé, my wife," he tells her. "And that's Anakin, my husband. And those two are Luke and Leia, our children."

Leia walks right up to Winter without a moment of hesitation, while Luke hovers at her side. "Hello," she says. "Do you want to play?"

"What are you playing with?" Winter asks tentatively.

Leia grabs Winter's hand and pulls her over to the toys, dragging her away from Obi-Wan. "Here," she says, "you can play with this doll."

"Leia," Padmé warns, "don't be bossy."

"It'll be her favorite!" Leia protests, and Breha has a momentary feeling like something cold has trickled down her spine. She shoots Bail a look. So this is what he's talked about before, the sensation you get when the Force moves so powerfully through Luke and Leia that even people who aren't Force-sensitive can feel it. Well, all things considered, Breha can think of a lot of worse uses for it than figuring out what toy a playmate will like best.

This sort of thing must be normal for Padmé, Anakin, and Obi-Wan, because none of them bat an eye. "Be that as it may, you ought to give Winter a chance to look for herself," Obi-Wan scolds gently. "Perhaps she'd rather play with one of Luke's ships."

Winter looks over at the ships, then she shakes her head. "I like the doll," she says quietly. "Next time, I can show you mine."

Within moments, the three children get caught up in some combination of a conversation and a game, which involves a lot of dolls, blaster noises, and swooping ships with appropriate sound effects. The adults all settle on the sofas, and Anakin gets a bottle of wine from the kitchen.

"I have the feeling," Breha says as she accepts her glass, "that we're witnessing the beginning of a lifelong friendship."

Padmé follows her gaze over to the children and smiles. "I'll drink to that."

"To lifelong friends, then," Obi-Wan says, holding out his wine glass.

"To lifelong friends," everyone else murmurs in agreement, clinking their glasses together and toasting. Breha can't help the smile that spreads across her face.

"And may that never change."


End file.
